With Americans lining up for deals on Black Friday and surfing the web on Cyber Monday, the holiday shopping season is officially in full swing. Consumers today have access to more information and more ways to shop than ever before – including online, via cell phone or in physical stores. According to a new study by Harris Interactive®, a global leader in market research, shoppers consult an average of four resources on their path to purchase. Most consumers begin their research online, but ultimately make their purchase in a brick-and-mortar store.

"The retail business is shifting to merge online with traditional retail outlets," said Mary Bouchard, senior research director, and lead retail industry expert for Harris Interactive. "Retailers need to do it all – harness web-based tools, keep a careful eye on the growth of mobile commerce and not neglect their physical stores."

The Harris Interactive research found that search engines (20%) rank as the number one resource for initiating shopping, followed by discussions with family, friends or co-workers (15%) and visits to the retail store (15%). Search engines ranked as one of the top-three shopping resources for every demographic studied. Despite the growing importance of the Internet to retailers, most actual purchases (67%) are made in-store. However, 46 percent of those in-store purchases began with research on the Internet as compared to a mere 21 percent which began in-store.

Younger shoppers (aged 18-34) and the more affluent (incomes over $75,000) exhibited even stronger preferences for online purchasing tools in the study. “The importance of digital channels will only escalate as younger and well-off shoppers carry this trend forward,” continued Bouchard.

Survey respondents reported the broad choice of products, availability of multiple brands and ease of search as the top three motives for purchasing online. On the other hand, the primary motivations for purchasing in-store were the ability to physically test the product and avoid extra shipping costs.